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Perennial of the Gentianaceae family, Gentiana clusii is a species of the Alps and the northern Apennines, also present in the western Carpathians. It occupies calcareous alpine meadows, rocky slopes, and grassy flats, generally between 1,500 and 2,800 meters in altitude.
It forms a compact and strictly non-suckering tuft, with well-individualized rosettes remaining at ground level, barely exceeding 5 to 8 cm in height when in bloom. This compact and solitary habit immediately distinguishes it from Gentiana acaulis, which spreads in wide covering mats. The leaves are oval-elliptical, thick, shiny, of a deep green, wider and slightly more upright than those of its relative.
Each very short flowering stem bears a single deep trumpet-shaped flower, of an intense blue to blue-violet, speckled inside with dark dots on a pale greenish background. The other reliable distinguishing criterion is the examination of the calyx folds, entire and not toothed in this species.
In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from May to July depending on the altitude. In cultivation, it generally blooms in April-May.
Strictly calcicolous, it requires a very well-drained mineral substrate, rich in crushed limestone, in full light, with regular moisture but without stagnation. It is more difficult to cultivate outside regions with cool summers.